Two leaders of the Na Hoy Village Women’s Union in Laos. Photo by Sarah Bates

Although I spent just one week in each country, the experience was remarkable. In Laos, we traveled to the village of Na Hoy to interview residents about their use of the forest in the nearby Phu Pha Nang National Protected Area, and to gauge their interest in a new eco-education center that will bring university environmental studies students in to the field to learn about and work directly with local people in community conservation—ranging from organized tree planting events to an incentive-based eco-awards program for young people demonstrating leadership in protecting the environment.

Activity-based outdoor learning offers an appealing and accessible way to engage youth in diverse settings to learn about and develop appreciation for the value of wildlife and habitat. Photo by Sarah Bates

Here, NWF’s publications (Ranger Rick in particular) and hands-on education materials proved to be useful conversation starters and valued gifts. Visiting with the leaders of Na Hoy—particularly the strong and influential leaders of the women’s union—I was struck by their genuine hospitality, curiosity at our approach, and matter-of-fact descriptions of changes underway in the forest: elephants are gone; collecting mushrooms requires days’ walking rather than hours; and a nearby mine has diminished their village river’s flow and quality. It wasn’t that they didn’t care about these changes to the environment, but they did not express a strong sense of control over their future. Aor’s organization hopes to catalyze awareness and stewardship through a process beginning with action research.

In Vietnam, I spent most of my time at Cuc Phuong National Park, the home of Save Vietnam’s Wildlife and three endangered species rescue and rehabilitation centers. As described in a recent issue of National Wildlife, Save Vietnam’s Wildlife works to stop illegal trade of the pangolin—an obscure yet charming scaled mammal that fetches astronomical prices in illegal markets throughout Vietnam, China, and beyond.

In addition to receiving confiscated pangolins and preparing them for release into protected habitat (a call came while I was there that fifteen new animals were seized and ready for pick up), Save Vietnam’s Wildlife advocates for tougher laws and stronger enforcement, and conducts education and outreach to youth and to communities that hunt and use pangolin products for food and traditional medicine.

When Thai was in Montana last fall, he visited the Missoula-based Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, whose educational display tells the story of North American wildlife conservation: from exploitation to awareness, and from mobilized citizens to national organizations advocating for wildlife. Thai wrote a blog about the cognitive dissonance he felt when he saw the banner proclaiming that “Hunting is Conservation,” but he kept an open mind as he spent time in the field with a game warden, sat in on NWF meetings involving sportsmen, and developed an uneasy appreciation for hunters’ role in protecting habitat and species conservation.

So, in Vietnam, Thai urged me to tell the story of North American conservation–with the hunting element fully included—in presentations at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi and at a workshop for rescue center staff and leadership at Cuc Phuong National Park.

To illustrate the evolution of a conservation ethic in the U.S. I showed historical photos of 19th century wildlife abuses: piles of bison skulls; barges loaded with salmon; and stacked rows of deer hanging after slaughter. Photo by Sarah Bates

I spoke about the ethic of conservation that drove new institutions in the 20th century under the leadership of Teddy Roosevelt, Ding Darling, and others, including the 1936 wildlife conservation conference that gave rise to the National Wildlife Federation. When I described how hunters in the U.S. promote wildlife conservation through action and education, my audiences visibly stiffened.

Save Vietnam’s Wildlife works to engage local people in protecting the endangered pangolin. Photo by Sarah Bates

There is no legal sport hunting in Laos or Vietnam. Yet, there is a great deal of market-driven illegal hunting.

Forests in both countries are increasingly barren of the charismatic and fascinating species that have lived here and whose modest harvests have sustained local populations for countless generations. A farmer who chooses to leave a rare turtle where he finds it traversing his rice paddy is making a significant economic sacrifice, with no guarantee that his neighbor won’t pick it up and sell it to a wildlife trader.

Thai told me his vision that local people will benefit from wildlife protection rather than exploitation, and will become a constituency for wildlife protection much as hunters did in the United States following decades of market-driven devastation. Recognizing the promise of his approach, Thai is a recipient of the prestigious 2016 Future for Nature conservation award, and will travel this spring to The Netherlands to share his conservation work with an international audience.

From this professional exchange, I gained an appreciation for the persistent and necessarily creative work of young leaders like Aor and Thai, who identify and address conservation issues linked to rural poverty, inadequate government sector support, and external pressures for exploitation. Each has benefitted from working with YSEALI and other professional networks, but they need more resources and support from the international community.